This is How Movies Should Be Made

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

An unusual work in Wolfgang Petersen's filmography, "Die Konsequenz" ("The Consequence") is a heartbreaking and unconventional love story, a movie that makes us look at Petersen in a different way, far from the optic we used to know from the director of blockbusters such as "Air Force One" and "In the Line of Fire". Without the speed and the colors of his notorious films, he has plenty of time to develop his story and create a brilliant piece that echoes life, giving his most natural and realistic work along with "Das Boot". His posterior enterprises might have stronger energies, action and bigger castings but doesn't have the patience and beautiful elements this has.A saddening tale on the recklessness of youth in its pursuit for love, "The Consequence" deals on the obstacles two lovers have to face while trying to be together. Not the ordinary love story, quite the opposite. This one involves Martin (Jürgen Prochnow, in his best performance) an actor imprisoned for seducing a minor, and the young Thomas Manzoni (Ernst Hannawald), son of the prison's warden. Both were approached due to a play performed in the jail - unimaginable setting for such encounter to happen but believable in certain contexts. They share some good moments, always in secrecy, but the challenge comes after Martin's release. They meet again, already sure that what they shared was love and they're ready to live with each other, but Thomas parents are against their relation and even more opponent to their son's homosexuality, and these new facts causes the role changes in the story: this time the younger one will be arrested - in a juvenile facility though, after some arrangements made by his father - while the other will try anything to be near his lover or to release him if possible. Not the cup of tea of many viewers out there who can't handle sad stories but the moral and warnings we get from this tale are truly valuable, very honest to us. It's cruel but it has a point. More than just a love story, it's a painful piece on the consequences of immaturity, right in that drastic point between youth and adulthood, already showing that choices have ultimate and heavy consequences that'll affect everyone's lives in one way or another. Thomas apparent brave act of showing to his family that he loves Martin and he wants to live with him only proves to be disastrous to himself. Their union faces bumps after bumps, and a great part of those happen because of the younger guy, not smart or not experienced to know the ways of life. If only he kept this a secret, just run away with his partner, things would might turn out to be OK for him and Martin. Enthusiastic admirers of great acting will be delighted with the magnificent performances of the main stars. Prochnow, usually best suited in villain roles, is amazing in this sort of heroic role, not a perfect guy but a committed, passionate and kind, completely caught off guard and head over heels for this boy and always making his best to help him, even when he realizes that it's no longer possible. He express plenty with just few words. Hannawald's angelical face little by little becoming the face of sadness and misery is certainly the most unforgettable in the movie along with some of his lines ("I think it's really rotten of them to lock you up like this for making love to a boy" innocently referring on Martin's condemnation. He gives the performance of a lifetime in here.Times are different, there's more openness and acceptance when it comes to sexuality issues but things aren't so bright and positive, which makes this film even more relevant today than like it was in the 1970's. Desperately needs more audience. 10/10

This film certainly deserves to be better known. I think with gay cinema evaluations have to be made in the context of the era in which they were made. The simplicity, honesty, brutality, and directness of this story is exceptional for the time. It's a slender story, familiar yet different. Familiar insofar as the difficulty of maintaining a same sex relationship, especially when there is a significant age difference. But different in that it deals with a harsh (and somewhat incomprehensible) penal system. Nevertheless, American gay men will be able to relate, and translating 1970s Switzerland/Germany to a similar present-day experience will not be difficult at all. Unfortunately for us, this is a story I'm sure is happening every day all around the world.It's fascinating to see a younger Jurgen Prochnow. The other lead, the beautiful young man, was and is unknown to me, but his performance is exactly right. All the performances are spot on, in fact.If there is an amateurish aspect to this film, it's the uneven (sometimes) grainy photography. Perhaps it was shot on 16mm and blown up. The subtitles (on the Netflix version I saw) are white, and impossible to read whenever they fall on a white background. That happens a lot, unfortunately. This is a movie that deserves better.Definitely worth seeing.

It should never be the case that after watching a film, you sit in the awakening theater and wonder why the thing was made. What did the filmmaker think was the value of the experience, that we would let him borrow our souls for a time?I did ask that at the end of this. Its done well enough I think, at least so far as its bits. Its a story about a love, actually a simple story, about a love thwarted by a society. The reason is that we have two men, and we are supposed to (I guess) take it as a character study of a tortured existence — an injustice whose consequence we see grind these two to bits.Judging from the comments here, there is an audience of gay men for whom this matters. But I think that is less that the film has something worthwhile, than it portrays an injustice they personally know, so they simply welcome the acknowledgment. But this thing has problems. There are matters of prison: two in fact, one for each man. This is so artificial — even by movie terms — that it lets us off the hook emotionally. When we are fed something that doesn't seem situated in our world, we lose it.Also, it isn't just a love between two men, but a man and a boy. The man has a history of exploiting underage boys, and we learn that the boy has a profoundly damaged parental environment. These dynamics are written away.Petersen is a quirky guy. "das Boot" was conceived from a place of genius as a study of space. All else is ordinary and there merely to serve the goal of limited containment. Since then, in Hollywwod, he has turned into a hack. Before "das Boot" we have this, which I think we could see as a similar but failed study in containment/confinement. If so, it is worth existing, but not worth watching, not like, for example "Equus."Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

The Consequence is a Black & White,poignant & at times sad movie about the cruel treatment of Homosexuals in Prisons & other institutions in West Germany during the 1970's.This 1977 film, was directed by WOLFGANG PETERSON, this was only his fourth film (4 years later he made DAS BOOT).The screenplay was by Alex Zeigler who adapted his novel to the screen. The star is JURGEN PROCHNOW (before he starred in DAS BOOT & is now one of Germany's leading actors. Here is portrays a convict who happens to care too much for young lads. He is also an actor who is appearing in a prison play, The wardens not yet 18 year old son is also in the play. You guessed it, they fall in love & this is what the rest of the film is about,there lives & affair over the next few years in & out of prisons & other institutions.18 year old Ernest Hannawald (in his first role) plays the young NOT SO INNOCENT young man. He does show some promise & has been on German TV over the years.It is a sad but poignant tale, well acted & well made,This was filmed in Black & White. The English sub-titles are clear & easy to read.For an early film by both director & star,it shows future promise,which we know has born fruition.I liked it BUT did not feel it was that worthwhile a movie to rave about,.It had a very limited release in the US & maybe elsewhere as well. I happen to be only the second person in 8 years to comment on the film. There have been better films on this subject over the years. Some of you may like it better than I did.See it for the star & director & the following reason, It is also very interesting to see how Homosexuals were thought of & treated in Europe back in the seventies.Ratings *** (out of 4) 81 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 out of 10